World meat industry news

In Russia, the record for consumption of all types of meat may be broken in 2024. Each person will have 83 kg. The Ministry of Agriculture reports an increase in production volumes in the country's livestock industry, which is facilitated by government support measures.

According to Rosselkhozbank estimates, cited by the publication, this year the meat consumption record will be broken again and will amount to at least 83 kg per person per year, that is, it will increase by about 3% compared to 2022. An increase in consumption has been observed since last year.

“In 2023, sales of meat, after stagnation in 2022, increased in volume terms by 3.8%, and sales of sausages by 4.4%. At the same time, average prices in both groups increased by only 2% compared to 2022,” the newspaper cites the opinion of NielsenIQ experts.

In almost all regions of the country, consumption of all types of meat and sausages has increased, which is associated with an increase in the level of well-being of Russians. The highest sales growth rates at the end of 2023 are shown by beef, which is ahead of turkey.

In addition, due to rising prices for poultry meat, since the end of last year, consumers began to prefer pork. Pork has also become more actively used in industrial production; it is now actively replacing chicken in the production of sausages.

“Even though meat production in Russia grew last year, it was difficult to keep up with demand. A total of 11.433 million tons of slaughter weight were produced, which is 2% more than in 2022,” the publication cites data from the Emeat agency.

Experts note that the growth in production volumes was influenced by projects that were launched several years ago and have now begun to produce results. Almost all of them were implemented using government support measures.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, livestock farmers are provided with preferential “short-term” loans for the purchase of grain, meal, premixes, vitamins and amino acids, as well as preferential investment loans for the construction, reconstruction and modernization of livestock production facilities, including feed mills and workshops, as well as for the purchase of equipment for them.

According to experts, meat production in 2024 will increase by 2–3%, to 11.6–12 million tons. The leaders will again be pork, which can produce 6–7% more (300–500 thousand tons in live weight) than in 2023. The increase in beef is expected to be 2–4%.